good morning. it's thursday. coming up on "early today," the oscar pistorius murder investigation gets even more complex as the lead detective is facing multiple murder charges from another case. a massive winter storm is blanchetting the midwest as it heads east. hundreds of thousands of americans face massive pay cuts as congress and the president don't work out the sequester deal. so why is congress on vacation? . plus, an ex-senator admits to fathering a son with another senator's daughter. a lawmaker shoots down a bill he's not fond of. and snow blankets match day championship. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for thursday, february

21st, 2013. good morning. i'm mara schiavocampo. well, here we go again. another massive dose of winter is coming for a big portion of the country. the storm has dumped some 20 inches of snow as it is moved through parts of michigan and oklahoma. up to half a foot of snow fell around parts of tulsa. and in kansas. the first round of the golf championship had to be canceled because of the snow. we're going to get the very latest on the system and where it's headed in just a few minutes. but we begin with new details and a dramatic turn in the oscar pistorius murder case. this morning, we're learning that the lead investigator himself will face attempted murder stemming from an incident in 2011. it comes just after a one week after his stunning arrest. all this as prosecutors paint a scene of nonstop shouting leading to a round of gunshots and said that a box of needles

was found in pistorius' bedroom. and a series of police oversights and the revelations of that investigator hilton botha. in the valentine's day death of his model girlfriend, prosecutors insist there will be no change to their investigation team but the defense is arguing detective botha should be dropped from that case. turning back now to the weather as the midwest prepares for a major blast of winter. the leading edge of a massive storm blanketed parts of the western u.s. from arizona to colorado. it's now moving east and forecasters in some state, predicting as much as a foot of snow. nbc's jay gray is in kansas city where the storm has already led to the cancellation of a popular golf tournament. >> reporter: this morning, the midwest is waking up to a blast of winter weather. zbrt latest winter storm is going to have everything with it freezing rain, ice and heavy snow. >> reporter: that snow has already started to fall across

the region including parts of oklahoma, arkansas, colorado and kansas. shovels around. then plows are already working but if the forecast holds they may not be able to keep up the pace. some areas expect blizzard conditions and accumulations of two feet or more before it's over. so before it gets that bad, many are making sure they stoblg up on supplies to ride out the storm. >> i live far enough out of town that it's not convenient and we have enough roads in the country that do get rather snowbound. >> reporter: some roads and highways are already slick, leading to accidents. and patrol officers warn it's going to get worse. >> if you don't need to go out, we are asking people to stay off the roadways, just because of the conditions that are deteriorating. >> reporter: and will be forecasters say, for at least the next 24 hours. you know, once the snow starts here and that's expected to happen in the next several hour,

it's expected to fall well into the evening here. when it's all said and done, we could see as much as two feet on the ground. live in kansas city, i'm jay gray, mara, back to you. >> all right, jay. well, congress is in recess this week but a few democrats are coming to work on capitol hill today. they're looking into the impact of the sequester. $85 billion in federal spending cuts that go effect in just eight days unless lawmakers cut a deal. what does that mean four, nbc's tracie potts has details for the programs on the chopping block. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. one of the biggest to be affected will be the pentagon, an 11% budget cut every year. what that means, not only for government workers, but for defense contractors as well, lost jobs. more than 700,000 people forced to be furloughed one day a week. that's the equivalent of a 20% pay cut. but take a look at some of the other areas where you may see the sequester take effect.

750,000 jobs lost. overall, that's 902 million in reduced loans for small businesses that could have an effect nationwide. 1,000 fbi agents would go away. 600,000 people could lose wic, that's supplemental health for women and children. and more than 100,000 homeless people at risk of going back on the streets. not to mention tsa. we're hearing 9,000 tsa workers could get furloughed that could mean very long lines at the airports. mara. >> thanks. tea party activists are blasting governor rick scott of florida for changing his mind on medicaid expansion. he said he will use president obama's health care act to provide medical coverage. scott opposed obama care as a, quote, job killer. scott now calls it common sense

but florida lawmakers will make the final decision. time now for the national forecast, bill karins is here. >> iowa, missouri, kansas, nebraska, arkansas, oklahoma, it's all a mess this morning. good morning, everyone. we're already watching heavy snow in some portions of north oklahoma, the north western part of the state. now heavy periods of freezing rain pushing through oklahoma city. tulsa, even reports of thunder out there, a lot of dynamics in the atmosphere. white is showing light snow, blue heavier snow. you up through the ozarks, missouri say mess. this is the ice storm warning, by the way. northern arkansas, the pink is winter storm warnings. again pretty much four states of the bull's-eye, and denver, too, they'll be getting snow, plenty cold. kansas city, st. louis, chicago, des moines. what comes down from the sky is going to be frozen.

not guaranteed to be all snow, there will be sleet, too. the latest models predicting, 6 to 12 bull's-eye over kansas. a little less for st. louis to chicago but still enough to cause a lot of travel concerns. and the highest snowfalls expected to be right around kansas city, omaha and wichita. a lot of shoveling. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. well, we have this storm, as it moves to the north and to the northeast, we'll have plenty of cold air to work with. there will be periods in indiana and illinois, probably start off as a period of snow and then mixing over to sleet and ice. for the east coast, this storm doesn't necessarily head to the east coast. there's still another weekend storm for new england we're going to have to deal with too, it's active winter weather. coming up after the break, we'll have the latest on a plane crash out of nashville that killed five. plus congressman jesse jackson jr. has pleaded guilty,

but now the fight to limit his jail time begins. and look at this, some spots that have the ability to swallow six earths but that's the least of our concerns. we'll tell you why. we're back in two minutes.

welcome back. here are some other stories making news this morning. five people are dead after a late night plane crash in eastern georgia. seven passengers were aboard the craft when it ran off the runway. a few survivors are injured but officials haven't released details about their condition. the white house is quietly moving to have the supreme court overturn the california ban on same-sex marriage. the high court will take up two cases surrounding same-sex marriage later this year. former congressman jesse jackson jr. pleaded guilty to using some $750,000 in campaign funds as a personal piggy bank. he'll be sentenced in june and could get more than four years in prison. meanwhile, the former mayor

of the big easy trying to get out of the big house. ray nagin pleaded not guilty to charges he accepted bribes and free trips during his time in office. he was arraigned wednesday with bond you set at $100,000. and former senator pete domene domenechi said he fathered a child with the then 24-year-old daughter of senate colleague saul laxalt. take a look at this, this sun spot is big enough to swallow six earths whole. turning to health news, the fda has released a new time of breath silicone jell. it's designed to be firmer, cohesive and safer than previous models. silicone implants were banded

from 1992 to 2006 for fear they could cause lupus and others. >> announcer: "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil cream. on wednesday, the dow dropped 108 points, the s&p tumbled 19 and the nasdaq sank 49. the pain continues today with the nikkei tumbling 150 points while the hang seng shot down 400. on wall street, the battle over apple's stockpile of cash continues, hedge fund manager david einhorn will try to sell shareholders on his suggestion that apple will disburse $170 billion. before the bell, walmart reports earnings last week and internal e-mails suggested sales have been stop ted nation's largest retailer. investors will be paying close attention to today's existing home report at 10:00 a.m. yesterday's housing starts sparked a selling frenzy.

tomorrow, boeing is expected to pitch to faa officials a final plan to get dreamliner back in service. meanwhile, carnival is facing a lawsuit of class action status for physical and emotional damages on the 3,000 passengers on the "triumph." "the new york times" is selling the boston globe after owning it for almost seven years. sony unveiled the first new playstation calling it the super charged pc. disney is releasing a new video for yet to be released internet glasses. immigration and customs officials have uncovered a scheme to illegal import chinese honey, prompting this honey press release from new york chuck schumer. quote, this successful sting operation is sure to be a buzz kill creating a sticky situation. we need a zero tolerance policy

when it comes to honey. finally, this home from the boss can be yours for $339,000 and it's just one block from the jersey shore. coming up, the first of its kind at the nfl tryouts. and a buzz for golf. and this is how one legislator arrests to new legislation he's proposing. can you guess what it's about? you're watching "early today."

welcome back. now to some other stories that caught our eye this morning. we start in missouri with new video of that massive explosion at a kansas city landmark. the powerful blast leveled jj's restaurant and torched nearby businesses. so far, one body has been found and investigators are racing to piece together what happened before an approaching snowstorm wipes out key evidence. in new jersey, terrifying footage has surfaced from a january accident. dash cam and surveillance individual joe show a commuter bus ramming into a school bus before crashing into a tree. fortunately there were no students on the school bus but rescue crews pulled 19 people from that commuter bus. in georgia a vicious attack of a female corrections officer was caught on tape. fortunately inmates stepped in to stop the beating. two office were fired after officials learn they had were not monitoring the room.

and in missouri, state representative ferguson raising eyebrows. a gun sponsored bill to gun owners, he fired multiple bullets into the bill to show the opposition. in sports, a double overtime thrill in college basketball, number nine kansas and 9114 oklahoma state went to a second overtime with a short jumper with 16.5 seconds left to give the jayhawks the lead. 68-67. earlier kansas coach bill south drew up a new play for the team, the harlem shake. and players had fun dancing around the locker room. and the titans get a championship for their conference tournaments. 11-year-old julian newman plays on his high school varsity basketball team even though he's only 4'5" tall.

he hopes to make it to the nba one day. in arizona a rare snowstorm blanketed a baseball spring training in arizona. not far away they started the opening round of the wgc-accenture championship but snow forced them to stop play. they made the most with an impromptu snowball fight. and lauren zimmerman will be the first to compete at the nfl combine. she'll so skills as a kicker. though the odds are long, we certainly wish her good luck. just ahead, action star sylvester stallone comes clean about his secret fears. plus, the latest on this winter storm that could drop are two feet of snow in some areas. we're back after these quick messages.

welcome back. the intense portion of our winter storm is now beginning. we are getting thunderstorms in the atmosphere that are producing a lot of heavy rains in the south and oklahoma. but further to the north, it's coming down as heavy snow. now is not the time to be traveling in southern kansas. and as we go throughout all morning, this band of heavy snow, two inches an hour will fall from wichita, to up kansas city again. again, this is the snowstorm portion of the storm, from oklahoma, southern missouri to illinois. that's all ice later on today. >> thanks so much, bill. it's time for entertainment. which big action star is afraid

of heights? it's not swaurn, it's not willis, but stallone, the star-"coat hanger." the director said he had to slowly coax stallone to the 13,000 foot mountain they shot on. "america's got talent" has found its newest judge, scary spice. she'll be joining howard stern and howie mandel. the show's producer, confirming they're not calling the academy awards anymore because it sounds old. instead, they're going with the oscars in hopes of bringing in hip new viewers. people like us, huh, bill ? and nba skz what it's the best picture? "argo" with 29% of vote.

there's still time to choose your vote. go to nbc.com. i saw "argo," it was fantastic. >> a lot of people are saying it should easily be the best director. >> it was snubbed because of the director. i haven't seen the rest of them. >> you have to watch them all? >> i do. well, this next one comes from kdiv local in michigan where they ash sheered social media is helping keep up with the times and the family. facebook has helped marguerite keep up with the past and her present. she's legally blind but that hasn't stopped her from logging on to the website. she's had a page for two years and each day her grand are daughter helps her respond to messages from family and friends. good way to stay in touch. >> i'm mara schiavocampo, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> good morning. another chilly start of this thursday morning. we lost the wind from yesterday. 20 in parkton. 24 in edgewood. we don't expect any rain or snow. highs around 38 or 39. we will come back and take the forecast all the way through the weekend. >> 4:56. >> a new county executive is

expected be chosen today. a live report is straight ahead. >> saying the things he said and the attitude. >> talking with a juror that convicted michael johnson. >> the case of the century in south africa. wait until you hear the latest twist. >> we're monitoring one accident in harford county.

how do we take an unpolished room and make it shine? we get doing... ...with a store full of ways to get it done. we can all throw on our work clothes... ...and throw out any doubt. because right now's the time to take those rooms from... ..."think i can do this?" to... ..."let me show you what i just did."

more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. outsmart your budget with glass and stone mosaic tile, just $6.98 a square foot. [ female announcer ] nature valley granola bars, rich dark chocolate, toasted oats. perfect combinations of nature's delicious ingredients, from nature valley. ♪ nature valley granola bars, nature at its most delicious. with simple, real ingredients, like roasted peanuts, creamy peanut butter, and a rich dark-chocolate flavor, plus 10 grams of protein, so it's energy straight from nature to you. nature valley protein bars. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> it